Solitaire card game



Aug. 6, 1935. E. 'c. HOFFMAN SOLITAIRE CARD GAME Filed Jan 2, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 nnnnmn 1 mm 30 5k IN VENT 0R ATTO EY- Aug. 6, 1935. E. c. HOFFMAN 2 t e e h S S 0 n 6 S 4 E MM. 9 GJL D 2 n E.a RJ I Ad T8 I1 Li OF S a UUUUUUU BU zgpim'ozz %-L'$ ATTORNEY K QUUU U Aug. 6, 1935. E. c. HOFFMAN SOLITAIRE CARD GAME Filed Jan. 2, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 E.C.HOFFMAN SOLITAIRE CARD GAME Filed Jan. 2, 1934 4 Sheets-Sh eet 4 7;s ATTORNEY MIDI" arr-u DEVlCES, Gilt its.

UNITED STATES lit/111 PATENT OFFICE SOLITAIRE CARD GAME Edwin C. Hoffman, Rochester, N. Y.

Application January 2, 1934, Serial No. 704,912

17 Claims.

The present invention concerns a card game, and has for one of its objects the provision of a satisfactory game by means of which a single person may, in an interesting and instructive manner, play a game of cards closely simulating a known card game normally played by a plurality of players.

More particularly, it is an object to provide a solitaire game of bridge, by which a single player may closely simulate the game of bridge as normally played by four players.

Another object is to provide a card game which includes bidding features as well as playing features.

Still another object is the provision of a game which will be instructive to the player and useful to him in obtaining greater proficiency in bidding and playing a card game such as bridge.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a game by which a player may play known prearranged hands of cards without his knowing in advance what cards are contained in some of those hands, and may thus test his own knowledge and skill against those of experts or others who have previously obtained certain results in playing the same hands of cards.

Still a further object is the provision of simple and effective game apparatus, and particularly of apparatus so designed and constructed that the parts representing the various hands of cards and directions for playing them, may be readily removed and replaced by other similar parts representing different hands and directions.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a plan of the game apparatus as constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, illustrating the parts in one of the bidding positions;

Fig. 2 is a similar view illustrating the parts in one of the playing positions;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken through the apparatus substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan of approximately one-half of a playing disk carrying directions for play;

Fig. 5 is a plan of a shutter disk used in the apparatus;

5 is a diagrammatic view of certain operating mechanism for the shutter disk, and associated parts;

Fig. 7 is a plan of a trick registering dial used in connection with the apparatus of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a similar view of a round registering dial also used in connection with the apparatus shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a similar view of another trick registering dial similarly used, and

Fig. 10 is a plan of a sheet bearing designations representing a hand of cards, one end of the sheet being folded over to illustrate designations on the reverse side.

The same reference numerals throughout the several views indicate the same parts.

The game comprises in its preferred form a playing board indicated by the numeral having means associated with the board for designating a plurality of hands of cards. Preferably these designations of hands are in the form of sheets 2| of paper or the like, bearing suitable designations of suit and value of the various cards going to make up one hand, and these sheets are removably held in suitable pockets formed, for example, by plates 22, 23, 24, and fastened to the top of the playing board 20 and spaced slightly above it, as shown in Fig. 3, so that the sheet 2| may be slid into the space between one of these plates and the board.

Each of the plates 22, 23, 24, and 25 has suitable openings through which the card designations on the sheet 2| may be read. When the game to be played is a four-handed game, such as the well-known game of bridge, there will ordinarily be thirteen cards in each hand. Consequently each sheet 21 will bear thirteen card designations thereon, and each of the plates 22, 23, 24, and 25 will be provided with thirteen openings properly alined with the card designations when the sheet 2| is properly inserted beneath the plate, so that the respective card designations may be readily observed, as shown in connection with the plate 22 in Figs. 1 and 2.

Masking means is provided for covering the designations of at least some of the hands of cards to prevent their being seen when not desired. In the preferred form of construction, each of the plates 22, 23, 24, and 25 is provided with a series of shutters, one for each opening, each shutter comprising a small plate 28 (Figs. 1 and 3) to which is attached a handle 29 extending upwardly through a slot 30 in the plate. By moving the handle 29 to the rear or upper end of its slot 30 the individual slide 28 connected to that handle is moved across the opening in the plate with which it is associated, to mask the designation of the particular card which would otherwise llu show through that opening. By moving the handle 29 to the front of its slot or downwardly when viewed as in Figs. 1 and 2, the shutter is opened to allow the card designation to be observed. In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, all of the shutters of the plate 22 are open and all of the shutters of the plates 24 and 25 are closed. In Fig. 1 all of the shutters of the plate 23 are likewise closed, and in Fig. 2 the second shutter from the left is open while all of the other shutters are closed.

Mounted beneath the board 20 is a movable playing member 40 preferably in the form of a disk removably secured by a thumb nut 4| to a shank 42 connected to a knob 43 accessible from the top of the board so that by turning the knob, the playing disk 40 can be rotated to set it in any one of a plurality of selective positions. The board 20 itself is provided with a plurality of sight openings or sight windows through which various indicia on the disk 40 may be observed. These sight openings may be in the form of slots or holes cut through the board 20 or transparent portions formed therein.

In the preferred construction, there is a relatively long arcuate sight opening 46 adjacent the holder 22 for holding what may be termed the "south" hand of cards, this opening being arranged concentrically with the turning knob 43. There is also a relatively long radial sight opening 41 adjacent the holder 23 for the west hand of cards, an arcuate opening 48 adjacent the holder 24 for the "north hand of cards, and another radial opening 49 adjacent the holder 25 for the "east hand of cards.

The above mentioned sight windows may be described as playing windows for reading playing indicia. If the game is to include bidding features, as is preferably the case, there are also provided a series of bidding sight windows 52, 53, 54, and 55 for the respective south, west, north, and east hands, and preferably also other bidding windows 51, 58, and 59 for forced bids or jump bids for the respective west, north, and east hands.

The playing disk 40 carries bidding indicia observable through these various sight windows when the bidding feature of the game is being employed. In the normal game of bridge as ordinarily played, by four players, each player bids on the basis of the cards in his own hand and the bids made by the other players, but he does not know the identity of the cards held in the hands of the other players, except insofar as he may infer those other cards from the character of the bids. This arrangement is closely simulated in the present game. When bidding, all of the shutters of the west, north, and east hands are closed, as shown in Fig. 1, and the shutters of the south hand, which is the player's own hand, are open, so that he sees only his own hand. Furthermore, if the playing disk 40 carries any indications which might be observable through the windows 46 and 48 when the disk is turned and which might be detrimental to proper unbiased bidding, then these windows 46 and 48 may be obscured during the bidding part of the game by any suitable means, such as by the shutter flaps 60 hinged to theboard 20 at 6|. Also the other windows 41 and 49 may be closed or obscured by any suitable means, such as that described below.

The playing disk 40 carries, in proper concentric circles so as to be observable through the bidding windows, various bidding indications prearranged by the manufacturer in accordance with the cards in the various hands. To start the bidding, the player turns the disk 40, by means of the knob 43, until he sees through his own bidding window 52 the bid which he desires to make on the basis of his own hand of cards held in the south holder 22. With the hand as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, he would probably wish initially to bid one heart. All of the possible bids which he might wish to make are arranged on the playing disk 40 in a concentric are or circle of the proper diameter to appear through the window 52, and are indicated in general in Fig. 4 of the drawings by the numeral 62.

When the player moves the disk until his desired bid of one heart appears through the window 52, the disk is stopped in this position and the bids of the other hands are read through the windows 53, 54, and 55. The player does not know what cards are in the other hands, so he can not bid those other hands, but the manufacturer of the disk lays the disk out with the proper bids which would normally be made by skillful players holding the respective hands of cards. In other words, the bidding indications on the disk 40 bear a definite relation to the hands of cards held in the respective holders 22, 23, 24, and 25, and are the bids which players holding these respective hands would normally make under ordinary conditions.

In the present instance, there is shown, by way of example, the designation P appearing through the window 53, indicating that west passes. Then through the sight window 54, the player reads the bid of one spade, in the present example, and through the window 55 reads a pass bid for the east hand.

Having noted the bidding all around the table in response to his initial bid of one heart, the player then decides what his further bid will be, whether he wishes to shift to spades, or to raise it to two hearts, or make it no trump, or what he may wish to do. By means of the knob 43, he then turns the disk 40 until the next desired bid appears through the window 52, and the bids of the other hands are read through the respective windows as before, except that if a player makes a forced bid or a jump bid appear through the window 52, then the responses in the other hands may be read through proper forced bid windows indicated at 51, 58, and 59. The use of such special windows enables the lay-out of the indications on the disk to be somewhat simpler and more scientific.

In the fragment of a typical sample disk shown in Fig. 4, the bidding responses of the west hand, corresponding to any particular bid decided upon for the south hand, are indicated at 63, those of the north hand at 64, and those of the east hand at 65, the respective bids being arranged along arcs concentric with the center of rotation of the disk. Jump or forced bids to be observed through the window 51 are indicated at 61, and such bids to be read through the north window 58 are shown at 68. It will be understood that Fig. 4 represents only about one-half of a typical playing disk, the other half thereof being similarly arranged with proper markings laid out by the manufacturer according to a predetermined schedule based on the cards in each hand.

It may be desired at times to arrange for shutters to close either the normal bidding openings or the forced bidding openings, so that the openings not in use can not be seen, and advance knowledge of the bidding can not be improperly obtained. This may be provided for by the use of any suitable shutters similar to the shutters used in the respective hand holders, similarly controlled by operating knobs Hi.

When the bidding has been completed, cards are then played in a manner analogous to the play in a normal four-handed game of bridge, or whatever particular card game is represented on the apparatus. To assist in playing the game, there may be provided a shutter disk or masking disk 15 lying between the playing disk 40 and the board 20, and secured to a gear 16 loosely mounted for rotation on the stem 42 of the playing knob 43, so that when the gear 16 is turned, the disk I5 turns with it. The disk 15 and gear 16 may be rotated by means of a knob 'I'I secured to a gear 18 meshing with the gear I6, as shown. Mounted on the stem of this knob I1 is preferably an indicating dial 19 hearing indications observable through a window of a plate 8| which overlies the gears.

The masking disk or shutter disk 15 is provided with suitable slots and 86 which, when the disk is in a certain position, are alined with the sight windows 52 to 59 inclusive, so that the bidding indications on the playing disk 40 can be read for bidding. When the shutter disk I5 is in this position, this fact is indicated preferably by the letter B on the indicating dial I9 appearing through the window 80, as shown in Fig. 1. If the gear 18 is half the size of the gear 16, as indicated in the drawings, and if the various windows 85 and 86 are located apart, as shown in Fig. 5, then the dial 19 preferably bears two B letters at diametrically opposite points, and each half revolution of the knob 11 and dial I9 would turn the disk 15 through a quarter of a revolution which would advance each opening 85 to the next bidding window of the board but would still provide an opening in the shutter disk in alinement with each bidding window of the playing board.

The shutter disk 15 also preferably has four series, arranged 90 apart, of spirally arranged windows, each series comprising twelve windows respectively indicated by the numerals 9| to I02 inclusive. of these, each window 9| has a relatively long slot arranged radially on the disk I5 so that considerable wording can be read through this window, but each of the other eleven windows in each series may be relatively small, as plainly indicated in the drawings.

The playing disk 40 bears suitable means for selecting any desired card to be played from the players hand (the south hand), and his partner's hand (the north hand), and suitable indicia for indicating the cards to be played from the hands of the opponents, these being the east and west hands. When the bidding is completed and the hands are to be played, the shutters 60 are thrown back to expose the sight windows 46 and 48, and the knob 11 is turned a slight amount to move the disk I5 one step so that the openings 85 and 86 are moved out of alinement with the bidding windows 52 to 59 inclusive, and two diametrically opposite openings 9| are moved into alinement with the playing windows 41 and 49. When the parts are positioned in this manner, the numeral I on the disk 19 preferably appears through the window 80, as indicated in Fig. 8. Preferably the disk 19 is provided with two series of numerals I to l3 inclusive, extending circumferentially around I the disk, as shown in Fig. 8, in addition to the tions to determine the plays to be made at the will of the single operator or player, who theoretically holds the south hand, and the playing directions for the east and west hands are then read through the windows 41 and 49. Suitable indicia are provided on the disk 40 and on the board 20 for indicating the various selective po sitions to which the disk is to be moved. For example, the disk 40 may be provided with indications I I0 observable through the window 4-5 for designating the various cards constituting the south hand (thus duplicating the designations appearing on the sheet 2i in the south holder 22), and these may be moved until the card selected for play is brought opposite a lead ar-- row III on the board 20, or opposite a follow arrow H2. Or this arrangement may he reversed and the lead and follow arrows may be placed on the disk 40 and may be selectively brought opposite card designations on the board 20 adjacent the edge of the window 48. In either case, the disk is moved to the desired position to indicate the play of a selected card from the south hand, and the card to be played from the west hand is then ascertained by reading suitable indicia through the window 41. Then the disk 46 is again turned to select a card for play from the north hand, in a manner similar to that above described in connection with the south hand, because in an actual bridge game, as played by four players, the person who win-,- the bidding also directs the play of his partners hand, which is laid on the table and constitutes the so-called dummy. So in the present game, which is to simulate a real game of bridge, the single player selects various cards to be played from the north hand, just as he selects cards to be played from his own south hand, by moving the disk .3 to DIODEJ position to bring the desired card on the disk observable through the window 48 into alinement with the lead arrow H3 or the follow arrow H4, or if the reverse arrangement is employed, he turns the disk until the lead or follow arrow is in alinement with the designation of the desired card on the board 2!! adjacent the window 43. When the disk is properly positioned to select the card desired to play from the north hand, indicia on the disk is then read through the sight window 49 to determine which card is to be played from the east hand. In this way, the cards to be played from the north and south hands are entirely under the control of the player, just as in the normal game of bridge. the cards to be played from the east and west hands being determined from the indication on the disk and thus being out of the control of the player. which likewise is in accordance with the actual normal game of bridge.

The indications on the disk 40 which determine the play of the cards of the east and west hand preferably indicate which card is to be played from those hands. without divulging the value of that card. This is important since if the value of the card itself were divulged, through the windows 41 or 49, the entire contents of the east and west hands could be ascertained by turn ng the disk around slowly and see ng what appeared through these windows. Preferably each card of the east and west hands is given a number which bears no definite relation to its value, but is simply a key number, and the same key symbol or number is used on the playing disk 40 to indicate that th s particular card is to be played. For example, as plainly shown in Figs. 1 and 2,

the shutters 28 of the east and west hands are numbered from 1 to 13 inclusive, from left to right, and the shutters of the north and south hands may likewise be similarly numbered. But the usual card designations themselves, beneath the shutters, may be arranged in any desired imp-hazard order, so there is no way to tell, when the shutters are closed, which of the cards bearing the key numbers 1 to 13 has the highest value, or which suit any particular card may be.

Consequently, when a particular card in the south hand is selected for play, by bringing the card designation opposite the arrow, or by bringing the arrow opposite the card designation, there will appear through the sight window 41 the key number of the card of the west hand which is to be played, for example, the number 13" which means that the card under the slide numbered 13 is to be played. But when the player sees this number 13 appear through the window 4'! he still does not know the suit or value of that card, and does not learn these facts until he pulls back the slide bearing the number 13 in the holder 23, by operating its connected handle 29. Then for the first time he learns the identity of the card which his theoretical opponent on the left is to play.

With knowledge of the card which he has played and which his opponent on the left has played, he can then select any desired card he wishes to play from the dummy or north hand, and after this selection is made, he reads the key number through the sight window 49 and, upon withdrawing the shutter slide bearing that key number, he learns which card his theoretical east opponent plays. With all four cards having been played in one round of the game, he can then determine which hand won the trick, and proceed with the next round.

Those familiar with the game of bridge will understand that the particular card to be played in one hand in response to the play of a certain card of a preceding hand might be different, in one round of the game, from what it would be if a different round were in progress. Provision is made in the present game for different response indications in accordance with the different rounds of the game, and it is the different indications in the different rounds that are controlled by the various windows ill to I02 inclusive, of the shutter disk I5. Each of the successive openings 9| to I02 inclusive is slightly farther inwardly toward the center of the disk from the preceding one, so that it may be said that each opening masks a part of the indications on the playing disk 40 which would otherwise appear through the windows 41 and 49, and leaves another part unmasked, depending on which of the openings 9I to I02, inclusive, is brought into alinement with the window 41 or 49.

The response indications on the disk 40 are spaced from each other both radially and circumferentially. That is, the key numbers indicating the responses in the east and west hands to individual cards of the north and south hands, are arranged along different radial lines. There is a different radial line of key numbers for each different card of the north and south hands, and the various key numbers along any one radial line represent the proper responses, in different rounds of the game, to the play of one particular card from the next preceding hand. The responses for all preceding plays, in the different rounds, are arranged on different concentric circles or arcs. Thus the responses for the secnd round, no matter what card is selected from the north or south hand, are all on a circle or are of the same radius as that of the sight windows 92; those of the third round are on an arc of slightly less radius, alining with the sight windows 93, and so on. The half of the disk shown in Fig. 4 bears key numbers indicating plays in the west hand in response to selected plays in the south hand. The other half of the disk is arranged in a generally similar manner, bearing indications for play of the east hand in response to selected plays of the north hand.

When the playing disk 40 is set in any particular position for selecting any one card from the south hand, for example, there will be a radial series of key numbers alined with the sight window 41, but the shutter disk I5 will prevent confusion in reading the wrong key number, for only the particular key number appropriate to that particular round of the game can be read through the windows 92 to I02, inclusive. In the case of the east hand, the long window 9I may allow several key numbers to be read in the first round of the game, but the player can be instructed to read only the right hand one of the key numbers visible in the first round, and to disregard the others.

When a card is played from one hand, the proper card to be played from the next hand depends not only on the identity of the card played from the first mentioned hand, but also on whether such card was the initial lead of a new round or whether it was the second or third play of that round. Consequently, in the preferred embodiment of the present game, the playing disk 40 is provided with two series of key number designations for each card, or at least for many of the cards, of the north and south hands. Each of the north and south hands is provided with a separate lead arrow (I II and I I3) and follow arrow (I I2 and H4) spaced from each other. When a particular card of, for example, the south hand, is brought into alinement with the lead arrow, one series of key number responses will be alined with the window 41, while if the same card be brought into alinement with the follow arrow, a different series of key number responses will be alined with the window, and the response numbers in that series will frequently be different from those of the lead" series.

If the south hand wins the bidding, as is usually intended to be the case in this game, the lead of the first round of the game is made by the west hand, but since all of the cards of the west hand are masked and unknown to the player or operator of the game, it is apparent that the directions must be given for the card to be led from this hand, in a logical manner, depending on the various cards present in the hand. Also, it is usually impractical to attempt to lay out a playing disk in such a manner that the game could be satisfactorily played with any suit as trumps. Ordinarily it is preferred to arrange the disk for play with a certain suit as trumps, which is the suit that would normally be bid by actual players holding the respective hands. For this reason, it is desired, after the bidding is completed, to give some indication of what the bid should have been and what suit is to be played as trumps, with this particular playing disk, and the hands of cards accompanying it.

The relatively long slots 9| are provided in order to give space for these indications. As above stated, when the bidding is over and the first round of the game is to be played, the knob TI is turned one space to bring the numeral I into 273. AMU

l it

I: Ml LlIl alinement with the window 80, and this brings two of the openings 9| into alinement with the east and west windows 41 and 49. If, then, the knob 43 be turned to bring the disk 40 to some predetermined position, such as to bring the word key on the disk into alinement with the follow arrow I I2, as'shown in Fig. 2, the player can then read through the window 41 the par contract and the lead to be made from the west hand. In the example here shown, the player will read Par contract four hearts. West leads No. 2". This indicates to the player that he is to play the game with hearts as trumps irrespective of what bid he may have decided upon, and also serves as a check on the accuracy of his bidding. The prearranged hands, in this suppositious example, would be bid by experts at four hearts, and if the player did not arrive at the same bid during the bidding part of the game, he knows that there has been some flaw in his bidding.

The statement West leads No. 2 also indicates that the card with the key number 2 in the west hand is to be lead to start the first round of the game. The player accordingly pulls down the number 2 slide of the west holder 23, which ex poses to him for the first time the card under that slide, shown in this example to be the king of clubs. He then opens all of the slides of the north hand, since this is in accordance with the actual play of a bridge game in which the cards of the player's partner are laid on the table and constitute the dummy, accessible to him. The slides of the east and west hands remain closed, however, except as they are opened one at a time to play the respective cards.

Having initiated the first round by playing the king of clubs from the west hand, the player then looks at the various cards which he has available in the dummy or north hand and selects one which he thinks should be played. This he plays by turning the knob 43 to bring the disk 40 to the position for playing the particular selected card, alining the card designation with the follow arrow, it being understood, as before stated, that the card designation may be on the board and the arrow on the disk, or the arrow may be on the board and the card designation on the disk, which latter arrangement is here illustrated.

After playing the card from the north hand he reads through the window 49 a key number which represents one of the cards of the east hand, and he pulls down the shutter slide bearing this number, thus playing the card from the east hand and learning its identity. Then he selects a card for play from the south hand to complete the first round of the game. Since this card from the south hand is the last card of the round, it is not necessary to move the disk in selecting this card, as there is no following card whose play is dependent on this card.

With all four cards of this round before him, the player notes which one takes the trick, and then turns the disk '15 through one space to remove the slots 9| from alinement with the windows 41 and 49 and to place the openings 92 in alinement with these windows. The parts of the apparatus are now ready for playing the second round of the game, which is started by making a lead from the hand which took the trick in the first round. In the example here shown, this would doubtless be the south hand, because this hand contains the ace of clubs which would doubtless be played to take the trick of the first round, which was started by the play of the king of clubs in the west hand.

If, for example, the player desired to lead out his trumps, the lead being in the south hand, he would play the ace of hearts by bringing the ace of hearts designation into alinement with the lead arrow designation of the south hand, then tln'ough the sight window 41 and the alined opening 92 he would read a key number which would represent one of the cards of the west hand, and on pulling down the slide bearing this number he would see what card it was. Then he would select a card for play from the north hand, bring the card designation into alinement with the follow arrow designation, and read through the sight window 49 the particular card to be played from the east hand. Then upon noting which hand took the trick, the shutter disk 15 would once more be turned one space to bring the openings 93 into alinement with the windows 41 and 49, and to bring the numeral 3 on the disk 19 into position visible through the window 80, to indicate that the parts were now ready for the play of the third round of the game. The game is continued in this manner until all thirteen rounds have been played, save that the last round needs no playing designations because only one unplayed card remains in each hand.

It is preferable, after the completion of each round, that the shutter slides of the cards played during that round be closed, to obscure the cards from view so that the player can not later observe which cards have been played in previous rounds. It is also desired that some indication should be made of those cards which have been played, as distinguished from those which have not yet been played, in order that through inadvertence the same card will not be played twice. In the north and south hands all of the shutter slides are opened at the beginning of the game, so that sim ply closing one of these slides to any closed position would be sufficient to indicate that this card had been played, all of the unplayed cards having open shutter slides. In the east and west hands, however, since the slides are normally kept closed, each slide is provided with two closed positions, one to indicate that it has not yet been played, and the other to indicate that it has been played.

As seen from Fig. 1, the slide handles 29 of the east and west hands are not at the rear ends of their respective slots 30, but are in an intermediate position, with the key numbers on the slides at the tops of the openings in the plates 23 and 25. The parts are so arranged that the handles 29 can be shoved still further rearwardly, to a position in which the slides are still closed, but in which the key numbers on the slides are underneath a part of the plates 23 or 25 to obscure these numbers. This is a convenient arrangement for indicating which cards have been played. After a card has been played, and the round has been finished, the handle 29 is shoved back rearwardly not to the position shown in Fig. 1, but still farther to the end of its slot, which renders the key number on that slide invisible and indicates that the card has once been played, and can not be played again in that same game.

It will be apparent that sometimes the trick will not be taken in the north or south hand and consequently the lead will not be in these hands but may be in the east or west hands. The card to be led can be indicated on the playing disk 40 in any suitable manner, for example, by a number appearing through the window 41 or 49 at the same time with the key designation of the winning card which takes that trick. This designation for the card to be led in the new round is llUU W preferably printed in a different color from the key designation of the card which won the trick of the preceding round, and may be below the latter. Such designations are shown, for example, at I20 in Fig. 4, where the key numeral 8 is seen and the numeral I immediately below it, both appearing at the same time through the window 41 in a certain round of the game. When the game is properly played, the play of the 8 card of the west hand in this particular round will take the trick, and the 'I" beneath the 8 indicates that in the next round of the game. the I card (that is, the card under the shutter bearing the key number 1) is to be led from this hand.

In the latter rounds of the game, where there is a likelihood that the preferred lead card may already have been played, an alternative indication may be given. For example, at I2I in Fig. 4, there is the indication for the play of the 8 card in a certain round of the game, and if this takes the trick the lead for the next round is made in accordance with the alternative lead directions 34I2 appearing immediately beneath the numeral 8. This indicates that the 3 card is to be led if it has not already been played; that if it has been played then lead the 4 card, or if this has already been played, then lead the I2 card.

When a card is played in the east or west hand which ultimately takes the trick in that round, it is possible that by the time the round is completed, the player may have forgotten the directions for the lead of the next round, and may not be able readily to reset the disk to its former position to read the directions again. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide some simple and convenient means for indicating the lead to be made when a trick is won in the east or west hand. The disk may be provided with a circumferentially arranged series of key numbers I from I to I3 inclusive, arranged on an arc of somewhat greater diameter than the key numbers indicating the normal play, and observable through windows I26 (Figs. 1 and 2) in the board 20. When the east hand or west hand has won the trick and it is desired to ascertain the lead to lead back from this hand, the disk can be turned until the key number of the winning card played in that hand is visible through the window I26, and then through the window 41 or 49 may be read the lead for the next round, the lead directions being placed on the disk in such position that they can be read in the manner above indicated.

At times the north or south hands may be short suited in a suit led in another hand, and thus may not be able to follow suit, although the east or west hands could follow suit properly. Provision is accordingly made on the playing disk in some instances for giving an alternate key number in the east or west hand, depending on the suit originally led, irrespective of the suit which may have been played in the preceding north or south hand. Such indications are shown, for example, at I in Fig. 4, and may comprise two or more outlines representing different suits, and key numbers printed within the outlines. The directions here shown are intended to mean that, when a certain card of the south hand has been played, card I3 of the west hand should be played if a heart was originally led at the beginning of this round, or card 5 of the west hand should be played if a spade was originally led at the beginning of this round. Such an alternative indication, depending on the suit led, is needed only occasionally on the playing disk, but can be placed, of course, wherever necessitated by the facts.

It will be seen that the playing disk is so arranged that when any card is selected for play from the north or south hands, a definite indication is given of a card to be played from the following hand, whether it be the east or the west hand, although this indication may at times be an alternative one specifying a certain card to be played unless it has already been played, in which event one or more alternative plays may be indicated. Thus the game closely simulates the normal four-handed game of bridge (or any other desired card game normally played by a plurality of players) since, as in the normal game, the player has control of the cards played from his own hand and his partners hand, but has no control over the cards to be played from the hands of his two opponents, and does not even know what cards are held by his opponents, or which of their cards is to be played, until after he has irrevocably designated the card to be played from his own hand, or his partners hand.

The disk 40, in actual practice, preferably carries more key numbers than shown in the drawings, having proper key numbers for every probable play from the north and south hands. In Fig. 4 there are shown, by way of example, only a few typical key numbers, corresponding to the most reasonable and likely plays from the south hand.

To aid in keeping track of the tricks won by the player and his opponents, two trick registers may be provided, one controlled by a knob I50, and the other by a knob I5I. These knobs have registering disks I52 and I53 (Figs. '7 and 9) respectively connected to them, each disk carrying numbers zero to I3 inclusive, arranged to be read through respective windows I54 and I55 (Figs. 1, 2, 7, and 9). The knobs I50 and I5I are preferably connected by one-way driving mechanism, with the gear I8, so that when either knob is turned to register a trick won at the conclusion of one round of the game, this automatically turns the shutter disk I5 one space to prepare the apparatus for playing the next round of the game so that the operator does not have to remember separately to turn the knob 11 between successive rounds.

For example, each knob may have attached to it a ratchet I60 (Fig. 6) which has fourteen teeth corresponding to the fourteen numbers on each registering dial, and each ratchet I60 is engaged by a spring pawl I6I fixed to a gear I62 meshing with the gear I8, and half the size of the latter. The ratchets I60 and pawls I6I are so arranged that as either knob I50 or I5I is turned in a direction to register an additional trick and to make the next higher number appear through the windows I54 or I55, this turns the associated gear I62 a corresponding amount, and thus rotates the gear I8, which turns the gear I6 to shift the shutter disk I5 through one space to the position for playing the next round of the game. Although operation of one trick register will thus turn the gear I62 associated with the other trick register, the one-way drivingmechanism provided by the parts I60 and I6I is such that the knob and registering disk of the other register will not be turned, and thus the registering of an additional trick on one trick register does not affect the other trick register, but does turn the shutter disk.

The number on the disk II! which appears 273- AMUSlLWltHi cutout,

through the window 80 will normally be one more than the sum total of the two numbers appearing on the two disks I52 and I53 through the windows I54 and I55. That is, when the apparatus is set ready to play the first round of the game, the numeral 1 will appear through the window 80, and both of the trick registering disks (one representing the tricks won by the player, and the other representing the tricks won by his theoretical opponents) will be at zero. When one trick register is turned to the number 1 to indicate one trick won by either side, this will turn the disk 79 so that the numeral 2 appears through the window 80, indicating that the parts are now ready for playing the second round of the game. Then if the other side wins a trick, the other register is turned from zero to 1, which leaves the first mentioned register at 1, but which turns the disk 19 to 3, indicating that the parts are now ready for playing the third round of the game. This is continued until a total of thirteen tricks have been taken. At the end of the thirteenth round of the game, the registering of the last trick on either of the registers will turn the disk I9 until the letter B appears through the window 80, so that the parts are once more set ready for bidding to play the next game.

The game may be played over again with the same hands of cards and the same playing disk, or different hands of cards may be substituted. It is contemplated that difierent hands of cards will be provided on different sheets 2|, which may be readily placed in the respective holders 22, 23, 24, and 25, and a different playing disk will be provided with each set of card sheets, giving proper designations for play of the particular hand represented by those sheets. It is but the work of a moment to remove one set of card sheets 2| from the four pockets and to substitute other card sheets, and to remove the playing disk 40 by unscrewing the thumb nut 4|, to substitute another playing disk.

Preferably also each playing disk has indications printed on both sides, and each card sheet has indications printed on both sides, as indicated in Fig. 10, where the left hand end of a card sheet has been folded over to show that it bears card indications on the reverse sheet. Thus each set of parts consisting of one disk and four card sheets will have two separate and distinct games of cards thereon, and after playing the game represented by one side of each card sheet and of the disk, these parts may be turned over and a different game represented by the other side may be played.

It is now seen that a game has been provided which may be played by a single player and yet which, so far as this player is concerned, closely simulates a real four-handed card game (such as bridge) as normally played by four players. The game is both interesting and instructive, and it serves to test the players skill and knowledge.

It is to be not-ed that the proper par bid for the predetermined hands of cards is indicated on the playing disk but does not become visible to the player until he has finished the bidding part of the game. Thus when the player has arrived at the final bid, he can compare his result with the indicated par bid and see whether he bid his hand the way an expert would have done. Similarly, at the end of the playing part of the game, the player can note whether or not he succeeded in fulfilling the theoretical par contract, and if not, he can play the game over again, with diiferent leads, observe his mistakes, and improve his playing until he is able to fulfill the par" contract fixed for those particular hands of cards.

The variable quantities of the game, that is. the playing disk and the sheets bearing the designations of the four hands of cards, can be produced in great number and variety at small expense, so that the owner of a game apparatus can readily obtain various different sets of hands of cards and playing disks, in much the same way that the owner of a phonograph obtains different phonograph records to be played on his machine. Furthermore, hands of cards can be made up in accordance with actual hands which have been played, for example, by experts in tournament play, so that the player of this game can check his own playing with the previous actual play of the identical hands by others.

The key numbers for directing the play of the cards of the player's theoretical opponents may be arranged in a variety of ways on various forms of sheets, cards, or apparatus, so long as they serve the underlying purpose of indicating the proper cards to be played from a concealed hand in response to various plays under the control of the player, from a hand partly or wholly visible to him.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive idea may be carried out in a number of ways. This application is therefore not to be limited to the precise details described, but is intended to cover all variations and modifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A solitaire card game by which a single player may play a game normally played by a plurality of players, comprising exposed designations representing one players hand of cards, concealed designations representing another players hand of cards, and indicating means settable in accordance with a selected card of the exposed hand for indicating a particular card to be played from the concealed hand.

2. A card game comprising a masking plate having a plurality of sight openings, a disk movable beneath said masking plate, a series of designations representing a hand of cards carried by said disk and observable through one of said sight openings, any one of said designations being selectively movable to a predetermined position with relation to said one of said sight openings, a second series of designations representing a second hand of cards, shutter means for masking said second series of designations, said shutter means being movable to expose a single selected card designation, and indicia on said disk and observable through another of said sight openings for indicating which of said second series of designations is to be exposed in response to movement of any selected one of said first series of designations to said predetermined position.

3. A card game comprising two series of designations representing two hands of cards of a player and his partner, said designations being available for view, any selected card of each series being movable to a predetermined position to represent the playing of the selected card, two other series of designations representing two hands of cards of the opponents of said player,

mally masked from view, means for unmasking any one of the cards of each opponent's hand to represent the playing of that card, and means operable by the moving of one of said exposed cards to said predetermined position, for indicating which one of the cards in one of the opponents hands should be unmasked to play it.

4. A solitaire card game by which a single player may closely simulate the game of bridge as normally played by four persons, said solitaire game comprising designations representing four hands of cards of the player, his partner, and his two opponents, means for masking the cards of both opponents while leaving the cards of the player and his partner visible, means for selecting for play any card of the player or his partner, and means operable automatically by such selection for indicating which of the masked cards of the next succeeding hand is to be selected for play.

5. A card game comprising designations representing four hands of cards of a player, his partner, and two opponents, means for masking the cards of both opponents while leaving the cards of the player and his partner visible, means for selecting any one of the visible cards for play either as a lead card or as a follow to a lead originated in another hand, and means for indicating according to a predetermined schedule which card of the next succeeding masked hand is to be seleeted for play, said indicating means being controlled by the selection of the visible card for play and by its selection as a lead card or a follow card.

6. A solitaire card game by which a single player may closely simulate the game of bridge as normally played by four persons, said solitaire game comprising designations representing four hands of cards of the player, his partner, and his two opponents, means for masking the cards of both opponents while leaving the cards of the player and his partner visible, a rotatable disk selectively settable to diiierent positions to represent the playing of selected cards in said exposed hands, and indicia carried by said disk and readable when the disk is set in one of its said selective positions, for indicating which of the cards in the next succeeding masked hand is to be played.

7. A solitaire card game by which a single player may closely simulate the game of bridge as normally played by four persons, said solitaire game comprising designations representing four hands of cards of the player, his partner, and his two opponents, means for masking the cards of both opponents and of the players partner while leaving the players own cards visible, means selectively settable by the player to indicate a bid which he desires to make on the basis of his own visible cards, and means responsive to the setting of said indicating means for indicating bids said partner and opponents appropriate to their respective masked hands.

8. A card game comprising designations representing a plurality of hands of cards, means for masking all but one of said hands of cards while leaving said one visible, an opaque member having a plurality of sight openings therethrough, one for each hand, a disk rotatable beneath said opaque member. a series of indicia on said disk representing various possible bids by a player holding the exposed hand, means for rotating said disk to bring a designation of any selected one of said possible bids into view through one of said sight openings. and other indicia carried by said disk and visible through said other sight openings for designating bids appropriate to the respective masked hands of cards in response to the selected bid for the exposed hand.

9. A card game comprising an opaque member having four sight openings therein, a disk rotatable beneath said opaque member and carrying playing indicia observable through said sight openings, means designating four separate hands of cards, one associated with each sight opening, means for moving said disk to various positions to indicate the playing of various cards in one of said hands, and an indication carried by said disk and observable through the sight opening associated with another hand of cards for indicating which particular card of said other hand is to be selected for play.

10. A card game comprising a rotatable member, a cover over said member having a plurality of sight openings therein through which indicia on said member may be read, indications repre-- senting a plurality of difierent hands of cards and identifying the respective cards in the hands by suit and value, masking means for covering at least one of said hands of cards and movable to expose any selected single card of the covered hand, identifying means for identifying each card of the masked hand without disclosing its suit or value, means for rotating said member to any one of a series of positions each indicating the play of one particular card of one of said hands, and identifying means on said member and readable through one of said sight openings when said member is set in any one of said series of positions, corresponding to said non-disclosing identifying means associated with a particular one of the cards in said masked hand, for indicating which one of the cards in said masked hand is to be selected for play.

11. A solitaire card game by which a single player may closely simulate a four handed card game as normally played by four players, comprising a board having four sight openings therethrough, four sheets each carrying designations representing a single hand of cards, the four hands together making up a complete deck of cards as normally used in the game to be played, pockets associated with said board for removably receiving and retaining said sheets, an operating knob accessible from the top of said board, a disk removably connected to said knob and lying beneath said board, and indicia on said disk observable through said sight openings for directing the playing of certain cards represented in said hands on said sheets.

12. A game comprising a board having a plurality of sight openings therein, means associated with the board for indicating a plurality of hands of cards, one of said sight openings being associated with one of said hands of cards and being relatively long, a playing disk mounted for rotation beneath said board and carrying indications observable through said sight openings, and a shutter disk interposed between said playing disk and said board and rotatable independently of said playing disk for masking a part of the portion of the playing disk which would otherwise be visible through said long sight opening and leaving visible only another part of said portion.

13. A game comprising a board having a plurality of sight openings therein, means associated with the board for indicating a plurality of hands of cards, one of said sight openings being associated with one of said hands of cards and being relatively long, a playing disk mounted for rotation beneath said board and carrying indications observable through said sight openings, and

273- AMUSEMENT DEV.

gigs, GAMES- a shutter disk interposed between said playing disk and said board and rotatable independently of said playing disk, said shutter disk having a plurality of stepped openings each shorter than the length of said long sight opening and each adapted to be brought into alinement with said long sight opening by appropriate turning of said shutter disk.

14. A solitaire game for simulating a game of cards played by a plurality of players, comprising a board having a plurality of sight openings therein and having means for holding a plurality of sheets, a plurality of sheets held by said holding means and each bearing designations of a hand of cards, movable shutter means for visually closing each of said sight openings in whole or in part, a member mounted for movement beneath said board and shiftable to any one of a plurality of selective positions, and indications carried by said member and observable through certain of said sight openings for giving information as to further progress of the game.

15. A solitaire card game simulating a four handed card game, comprising a board, means on said board for indicating individual cards grouped into four separate hands, means for masking certain of said hands and for unmasking individual cards of said masked hands, a disk mounted for rotation beneath said board, means for turning said disk at the will of the player to any one of a plurality of different positions each representing a step in the playing of the game, a plurality of sight windows in said board, bidding indications carried by said disk and observable through certain of said sight windows, and playing indications carried by said disk and observable through certain of said sight windows.

16. A card game comprising a board having sight window means therein, means for indicating individual cards grouped into separate hands, a member mounted for movement beneath said board and selectively settable to different positions to indicate the play of different cards in one of said hands, indicia carried by said movable member and observable through said sight window means for directing the play of cards in another of said hands, shutter means for obscuring part of the indicia which would otherwise be observable through said window means, said shutter means being normally moved between each two successive rounds of play, trick register means for registering a trick won in a round of play, and means automatically operable for operation of said register means to register a trick won in one round of play, for moving said shutter means to set it in position for the next round of play.

17. A solitaire card game closely simulating a card game normally played by a plurality of players, comprising exposed designations representing one hand of cards, concealed designations representing another hand of cards, a key symbol associated with each card of the concealed hand, each symbol identifying one particular card of the concealed hand without divulging its value, and means including a key symbol associated with each card of the exposed hand for indicating which particular card of the concealed hand is to be played in response to the play of any selected card from the exposed hand.

EDWIN C. HOFFMAN.

Roma 

